Posts

“Beyond Boarding is a crew of snowboarders out of BC that truly inspire. From shredding full winters with no fossil fuel consumption, to helping the less fortunate in third world countries, these guys are working to make the world a better place. We linked up with David MacKinnon, one of the co founders, and headed north for powder and a hunger for knowledge. Our plan was to link up with a friend of David’s and take a look into his off grid home in Northern BC. Just outside of Smithers BC lives the Egenolf family. Their home runs off of waste veggie oil, solar energy, and wood gasification. They have built their own electric cars and they are currently running other vehicles on used veggie oil. We learned a lot about sustainable energy and how we can apply it easily into our own lives. Just on the other side of town was the Hankin-Evelyn rec area. An area that allows access only by foot. With groomed trails for split boarding, and warming huts scattered amongst the sleeping giants, we had hit the jack pot. We split boarded into the late hours and found a small taste of what terrain the area had to offer. Our hungry minds were soaking in information and our bodies were enjoying some much needed time in the mountains. We headed back home with much more than just our hunger for snow satiated. Knowledge is powder.” – Ian Wood

Today we learned that Canadians care more about the environment and when someone meets our US president than Americans. At least, that’s the only thing we can surmise about this press release originating in Montreal. Real nice, America.

Montreal, Canada (April 10, 2013) — O’Neill, the original surf, snow and youth lifestyle brand for more than 60 years, is proud to announce that team rider, snowboard legend, filmmaker and environmental activist, Jeremy Jones, will visit the White House this Thursday afternoon as a ‘Champion of Change’ for his tireless work as founder of Protect Our Winters (POW) and advocacy on behalf of the winter sports community.

Jones is among 12 citizens, businesses, and community leaders whom the White House will honor for working to prepare their communities for the consequences of climate change.Â Along with Jones, these individuals are leaders and innovators working to prepare for increasingly extreme weather and other costly climate-related impacts.Â President Barack Obama, Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and others will honor them during a ceremony.

“When Protect Our Winters was started, we wanted to get the organization in front of important lawmakers and influencers who had a real impact on change, so it’s great to see our message is getting through,” said Jones.Â “We’re glad that President Obama and other leaders are recognizing the real threat of climate change and bringing together other activists who are working to make a difference in their communities.”

POW Executive Director Chris Steinkamp will join Jones at the reception, which starts at 12:30 pm EST and can be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live

In the fall of 2011, Jones visited Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers about POW and his concerns about the impact of climate change on mountain communities throughout the U.S., including Jones’ home of Lake Tahoe.

“This is such a great honor for Jeremy to be recognized for all the great work he’s done on behalf of Protect Our Winters and bringing people together for a cause that he’s really passionate about,” said O’Neill Snow’s Juliet Korver.Â “We’re happy to support POW through his signature apparel line with O’Neill, and we’ll continue to work with Jeremy to create the most sustainable outerwear on the market.”

Jones helps provide design input to his signature O’Neill jackets and pants, which are all made from environmentally friendly materials and help benefit POW with each sale.

The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative.Â Each week, the White House features a group of Americans — individuals, businesses and organizations — who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.

“The idea spawned from Jamie and I just having coffee one cloudy day in Breckenridge [Colo.],” says Pelosi. “I think we both realized that we need to encourage more people to get out and be active. There are people who are less fortunate who want to go snowboarding, but don’t have the financial resources to do so. By starting the Facebook page, the goal was to give back to people who need something warm for the winter holidays [and to] encourage others [to do the same]. And also just spread awareness to pay it forward and spread the love.”

So join Jamie Anderson, Leanne Pelosi, MFR, Elena Hight, Peter Line, Spencer O’Brien, Annie B, Kristi Leskinen, Robin Van Gyn and others in giving warm clothing to those in need this winter solstice. You can find out more about how to help here: https://www.facebook.com/events/534615629883818/

POPULAR POSTS

Johan Rosen is “straight outta the woods of Sweden,” so it’s only appropriate he would give us some tips for living in a tent in Norway. We honestly don’t know anything about him and this is the last one of these we’re writing so check back later for a good intro. Maybe. [Editor’s note: Probably […]

Technically, Lowe Andersson doesn’t get paid to ride a snowboard. But without ever meeting him, we assume he can ride a snowboard well, fast, with a heavy bag on his back and $10,000 worth of camera gear in his hand, to boot. Or at the very least, he can stand in a park and spit […]